Mangini on Steptoe Injury: We Practiced the Way We Planned

Browns Coach Eric Mangini said Sunday that a practice session in driving rain Saturday wasn’t the reason for a player’s injury.

Wide receiver Syndric Steptoe went down with a torn labrum, according to his agent in a report in the Plain Dealer.  The injury will likely cause him to miss the entire season.  Jerome Stanley, Steptoe’s agent, accused Mangini of switching the practice from a run through for scrimmage Sunday to a full speed outing.

‘’I haven’t talked to Syndric Steptoe’s agent.  I don’t know what he’s said,’’ Mangini said after Sunday’s scrimmage.  ‘’The practice we had planned is the practice that we executed Saturday.’’

The Browns worked out in shorts and no pads Saturday.  What had been a gentle rain eventually evolved into a torrential downpour. 

Mangini offered a different perspective.  ‘’Seventy-nine other guys were able to practice effectively and really the play that he was injured on didn’t have anything to do with the elements,’’ he said.

Steptoe suffered the injury while diving for a pass, Mangini said, something that he typically does in practice. ‘’He really laid out for the ball.  It was a great effort play; he just couldn’t bring it in.’’